Incineration | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/incineration
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Rubbish futures: can technology help us reach zero waste?http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jun/12/rubbish-futures-can-technology-help-us-reach-zero-waste
<p>Turning dug-up waste into gas or converting rubbish into building materials are among new techniques that may help end landfill</p><p>“What do you think happens to the rubbish when you throw it out into the street?” asks the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Boosh">Mighty Boosh</a>’s great realist Howard Moon.</p><p>“I don’t know, does it dissolve in the rain like a giant Berocca?” replies Shoreditch everyman Vince Noir.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jun/12/rubbish-futures-can-technology-help-us-reach-zero-waste">Continue reading...</a>Live BetterLife and styleWasteRecyclingEthical and green livingLandfillIncinerationThe Mighty BooshEnvironment AgencyEnvironmentThu, 12 Jun 2014 12:30:36 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jun/12/rubbish-futures-can-technology-help-us-reach-zero-wastePhotograph: Graham Turner/GuardianLandfill site in Mucking, Essex. Could new industrial techniques, as well as a change in public behaviour, eradicate rubbish sites? Photograph: Graham Turner for the GuardianPhotograph: Graham Turner/GuardianLandfill site in Mucking, Essex. Could new industrial techniques, as well as a change in public behaviour, eradicate rubbish sites? Photograph: Graham Turner for the GuardianKarl Mathiesen2014-06-12T12:30:36ZWelsh government faces legal challenge over Cardiff incinerator fundinghttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/11/welsh-government-legal-challenge-cardiff-incinerator
Friends of the Earth Wales wants a judicial review into the controversial project, which will receive £100m state funding<p>Welsh government funding of a controversial &pound;105m waste incinerator in Cardiff faces a legal challenge from environmental campaigners, it emerged on Friday.</p><p>Construction has already begun on the site for the project, called Prosiect Gwyrdd, and five councils are currently fine-tuning terms of the operating contract with waste and recycling company <a href="http://www.viridor.co.uk/our-developments/cardiff-efw/" title="">Viridor</a>. The plant, which is slated to burn 172,000 tonnes of rubbish from homes and businesses across south Wales from April 2016, is sited at Trident Park between Splott and the popular residential and tourist Cardiff Bay area.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/11/welsh-government-legal-challenge-cardiff-incinerator">Continue reading...</a>IncinerationWasteLandfillPollutionEnvironmentWalesUK newsFri, 11 Oct 2013 14:06:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/11/welsh-government-legal-challenge-cardiff-incineratorTheo Moye/ViridorConstruction has already begun on the Trident Park incinerator site. Photograph: Theo Moye/ViridorViridor's EnergyArtist impression of Viridor's Energy waste plant in Trident Park, Cardiff, built by Lagan Construction. Photograph: Viridor's EnergyJessica Aldred2013-10-11T14:06:19ZIs incineration holding back recycling?http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/29/incineration-recycling-europe-debate-trash
Increasingly common in Europe, municipal 'waste-to-energy' incinerators are being touted as a green trash-disposal alternative<p>For communities short on landfill space, &quot;waste-to-energy&quot; incineration sounds like a bulletproof solution: Recycle all you can, and turn the rest into heat or electricity. That's how it's been regarded in much of Europe, where nearly a quarter of all municipal solid waste is burned in 450 incinerators, and increasingly in the United States, where dozens of cities and towns are considering new, cutting-edge plants.</p><p>But leaders of the international zero-waste movement, which seeks to reuse all products and send nothing to landfills or incinerators, say incineration falls short on the energy front and actually encourages waste. Many &quot;zero wasters&quot; — including groups such as Zero Waste Europe and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, or GAIA — have become ardent opponents of the technology, contending that proponents have co-opted the carefully crafted zero-waste label by suggesting that burning to produce energy isn't actually wasting. In Europe, where incineration capacity continues to grow despite already exceeding the trash supply in some countries, the showdown goes beyond semantics to the heart of the meaning of sustainability.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/29/incineration-recycling-europe-debate-trash">Continue reading...</a>EnvironmentRecyclingWasteIncinerationEuropeThu, 29 Aug 2013 15:59:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/29/incineration-recycling-europe-debate-trashPeter Cripps/AlamyAfter 10 years of debate, Newhaven incinerator opened last year. Photograph: Peter Cripps/AlamyPeter Cripps/AlamyNewhaven incinerator in East Sussex on 7 October 2011.
Photograph: Peter Cripps/AlamyNate Seltenrich for <a href="http://e360.yale.edu/" title="">Yale Environment 360</a>, part of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/network" title="">Guardian Environment Network</a>2013-08-29T15:59:00ZJeremy Irons talks trash for his new environmental documentary | Leo Hickmanhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/dec/11/jeremy-irons-trashed-film-waste
Oscar-winning actor explains why he travelled around the world to highlight the environmental problems caused by our waste<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Irons">Jeremy Irons</a>, the Oscar-winning actor, has teamed up with the British filmmaker <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-film-festival/9260594/Candida-Brady-the-new-Brit-at-Cannes.html">Candida Brady</a> to produce a new feature-length documentary called <a href="http://www.trashedfilm.com/">Trashed</a>. It sets out to &quot;discover the extent and effects of the global waste problem, as he travels around the world to beautiful destinations tainted by pollution&quot;.</p><p>Ahead of its first <a href="http://www.trashedfilm.com/events.php">theatrical screenings in the US</a> later this month, Irons answered my questions about the film via email...</p><p>I wanted to help create a film on a subject of real social importance. Candida Brady and I talked over various possible subjects, but none, we felt, compared with the problem of waste, which affects us all, and which, despite all the evidence and research available, is not being seriously faced. I felt such a film should be made for theatrical release, rather than TV and such documentaries seem to need a personality on which to hang them. As an actor I've always seen myself as a sort of storyteller and my involvement in Trashed seemed a logical progression of that role. Apart from being the face on the screen, I was also able to help with raising the finance, and in persuading my friend <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vangelis">Vangelis</a> [who scored the film] to come on board with us.</p><p>Each place had its particular effect on me. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidon">Sidon</a> [south of Beirut] showed me what happens if you do nothing. [The film shows a huge rubbish dump on the beach.] Iceland showed me how state agencies can so easily be seduced by experts who promise to make their problems go away, but who become conspicuously absent when their promises do not deliver. With so many &quot;Waste to Energy&quot; plants applying for planning in the UK, Iceland and France's experience of them was a real eye-opener for me.<br />The danger of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioxin">dioxins</a> in our environment, our food chain and our bodies is difficult to illustrate, since they are not visible to the naked eye. My time in Vietnam allowed me to see the result of large quantities of them, and therefore understand better the insidiousness of the smaller quantities that have found their way into our lives and bodies.<br />Yorkshire and Gloucestershire, with their massive toxic waste mounds, showed me the extent of the problem in my own back yard. Since we filmed, these problems have been further exacerbated by the recent research showing that the clay used under liners, designed to prevent contamination of ground water, actually enhance the process of the toxins leaching out!<br />And San Francisco gave me enormous hope that, if the will is there, then these problems can be dealt with, and in a commercially profitable way.</p><p>San Francisco has actually reached 80% diversion or Zero Waste this year. New York, which creates 1.5% of total global waste, currently recycles only 15% of it. State and federal government should provide legislation which designs a waste management policy right across the country. In the UK there is a similar situation in that, depending where you live, the waste management policies and goals differ greatly. I believe that most people would like to cooperate in reducing waste, but to encourage them the national policy should be clear, well advertised and consistent. Even within Greater London there is a huge discrepancy between council policies. I believe a national waste management initiative should be designed and implemented by government. Not to burn it or bury it, but to design and encourage its reduction and recycling. This time of rising unemployment seems ideally suited to the creation of a new and forward-thinking industry that could be profitable and create new jobs. If we became world leaders in recycling technology, then that expertise could be exported around the world.</p><p>To enlarge on my earlier answer, Candida Brady, the director, thought long and hard about this and decided to show the foetuses for two reasons; firstly, because dioxins and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furan">furans</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychlorinated_biphenyl">PCBs</a>, etc, are all just words, until you can actually see and understand the impact these compounds are capable of having in the human body and on life in general. We felt it was important to show this. And, secondly, a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/newsnight/1671257.stm">2001 BBC Newsnight investigation</a> found that ash from a London incinerator, dumped in the open, had a similar level of dioxins to Vietnamese soil after the spraying of Agent Orange. This is just one example we found. <br />And it should be borne in mind that the monitoring of dioxin emissions in the UK could be described as casual, if not cavalier. Incinerator filters are only checked between two and four times annually for a few hours at a time. Even Belgium, which boasts the most advanced measuring system, only measures emissions over a two-week period, before averaging those emissions out over the year. Nowhere are emissions monitored constantly. So the truth is that the real quantity of dioxin emissions from incineration remains unknown. <br />Finally, it is important to remember that, in the past, medical research generally looked only into the effects of these compounds at high dosage, whereas recently they have discovered evidence that dioxins are having an effect on foetuses at very, very low doses.</p><p><a href="http://www.tetrapak.com/Pages/default.aspx">Tetra Pak</a> are a good example of a company working hard to produce recyclable products, and we are very grateful to the Rausing Trust for their involvement. We tried not to cast any one as the villain in the film. Over-packaging is a complicated, though not insurmountable, problem. We have become used to food and consumables which are transported often over great distances. Intelligent packaging is essential, but I believe it should be reusable or returnable for reuse. Toxic chemicals used in the manufacture of food packaging is another, even more alarming, part of the problem. Four hundred million tonnes of chemicals are produced each year and according to a European Commission, information on the risks inherent in 99% of them is 'sketchy'. This is a regulatory issue. We need to stop toxic chemicals being used in these products in the first place.</p><p>Happily, lots. There are wonderful things happening all around the world. From Nova Scotia to Kerala, Bristol to Melbourne, and even in the Philippines, zero waste is on the agenda. I think what's particularly inspiring is when communities don't wait to be told what to do, but just go ahead and do it. In northern Italy, many villages and towns have used their own initiative and achieved 70% diversion, in some cases, in less than a year. </p><p>It is everyone's problem and all of our responsibility. It's time we were all informed and it's time to get angry and maybe even a little ashamed of ourselves. But it must be up to our elected representatives to do what they were elected for. To represent the best interests of those who put them where they are. To organise a system that will cut the amount of waste we produce, both domestically and industrially, and to mount a campaign to encourage us to recycle and re-use. Our population, and especially our children, the next generation, needs educating about the present problem of waste. For instance, plastic bag usage has risen in the last year in the UK. If you knew that there was a chance that your plastic bag was going to come back to you in your food, you might think twice about using it. The joy of the problem, unlike so many which confront us, is that it is easily surmountable.</p><p>Candida Brady collected an amazing amount of research on the subject. She would pass me that information if and when I needed it. There are more than 81 peer-reviewed published scientific papers on the <a href="http://www.trashedfilm.com/references.php">film's website</a>, most of them sources for the film. I think she would agree that the paper which disturbed her more than anything was a 2009 study of umbilical cord blood, which found up to 232 man-made industrial compounds and pollutants present in a child before it is even born. Ten out of ten babies were shown to have chlorinated dioxins in their blood.</p><p><a href="http://www.trashedfilm.com/events.php">It opens in the US</a> on the 14th December at The Quad in New York and Laemmle in LA. It will be released in South America and the UK in the spring, and we are presently finalising the distribution in Japan. Of course, I hope it will finally get distributed all around the globe, since this is clearly a global problem. We have plans to screen it for government, both in London and Washington, and I would hope that all local councils will be made aware of its presence. I cannot believe that once our policy makers have seen it they will not be forced to take action. But it is my dream to find a backer who would finance a shorter cut that we could send out to every school in the world to play in the classroom. I have no doubt, that if seen by the world's children, then, if we don't deal with the problem, they will.</p><p>I would like them to research whether there is a waste-to-energy plant planned for their area, and, if there is, to oppose it. If there is not, then to discover how their local council deals with their waste. I would like them to lobby their MPs for legislation designed to cut waste and to regulate the production of packaging, particularly plastics containing unreported toxins, and particularly where this packaging is used for foodstuffs and bottled water. I would like them to remove all packaging at the point of purchase, thereby pushing the problem one step back towards the manufacturers.<br />I would like them to use their ingenuity to discover how they can reduce waste both at home and in their workplace. I would like everybody to give a good shopping bag to at least one person this Christmas. And I would like them to tell their friends to see Trashed.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/dec/11/jeremy-irons-trashed-film-waste">Continue reading...</a>EnvironmentFilmWastePollutionEnergyIncinerationPlastic bagsJeremy IronsTue, 11 Dec 2012 14:07:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/dec/11/jeremy-irons-trashed-film-wasteBlenheim FilmJeremy Irons on the set of movie Trashed. Photograph: Blenheim FilmBlenheim FilmJeremy Irons on the set of movie Trashed released in 2012 Photograph: Blenheim FilmLeo Hickman2012-12-11T14:07:00ZEnergy secretary approves giant incinerator for Osborne backyardhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/oct/11/energy-secretary-incinerator-george-osborne
Ed Davey not deterred by chancellor's signature on petition against energy-from-waste plant in Cheshire constituency<br /><br />• <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/05/newhaven-incinerator-opens">How campaigners in Sussex failed to stop incinerator firing up</a><p>The energy secretary, Ed Davey, has forced through <a href="https://www.og.decc.gov.uk/EIP/pages/projects/LostockDecision.pdf" title="">approval for a giant incineration plant</a> in the constituency of chancellor, in the latest skirmish between the Department for Energy and the Treasury.</p><p>George Osborne was first to sign 25,000-strong petition against building in Cheshire an energy-from-waste plant that will devour 600,000 tonnes of rubbish every year. But Davey gave <a href="http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn12_113/pn12_113.aspx" title="">final approval for the plan</a> on 2 October, leaving a high court challenge as the only remaining option for the chancellor and fellow opponents.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/oct/11/energy-secretary-incinerator-george-osborne">Continue reading...</a>Renewable energyIncinerationEd DaveyGeorge OsborneEnergyEnvironmentPoliticsLiberal DemocratsConservative and Liberal Democrat cabinetConservativesLiberal-Conservative coalitionWasteUK newsThu, 11 Oct 2012 17:26:09 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/oct/11/energy-secretary-incinerator-george-osborneRay Tang/Rex FeaturesGeorge Osborne's dispute with Ed Davey has the role of gas, as well as that of renewable energy, at its heart. Photograph: Ray Tang/Rex FeaturesRay Tang/Rex FeaturesGeorge Osborne's dispute with Ed Davey has the role of gas, as well as that of renewable energy, at its heart. Photograph: Ray Tang/Rex FeaturesDamian Carrington2012-10-11T17:26:09Z'This is the end for Newhaven' – controversial incinerator fires uphttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/05/newhaven-incinerator-opens
The plant is operational, but for residents and councillors, the 10-year battle over its approval is neither forgiven nor forgotten<p>You see it as soon as you come over the headland. The 65-metre chimneys rise above the vast silver roofs. The trees around the incinerator will grow eventually, but for now it sits in a scrubby valley of chalk soil, exposed, and still shinily new.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/05/newhaven-incinerator-opens">Continue reading...</a>IncinerationWasteEnvironmentUK newsActivismEnergyLocal governmentSocietyThu, 05 Jul 2012 12:10:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/05/newhaven-incinerator-opensPeter Cripps/AlamyAfter 10 years of debate, Newhaven incinerator opened this week. Photograph: Peter Cripps/AlamyPeter Cripps/AlamyNewhaven incinerator in East Sussex on 7 October 2011.
Photograph: Peter Cripps/AlamyBibi van der Zee and Greg Jones2012-07-05T12:10:00ZThe dirty truth about China's incineratorshttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/04/dirty-truth-chinas-incinerators
The boom in polluting waste-to-energy plants in China has led to a backlash from residents, including one man's long-running legal crusade<p>Xie Yong could be called a pioneer. He is one of very few to date to sue a Chinese government agency over its unlawful refusal of requested data. His crusade for change has little to do with civic altruism, however. Xie's struggle is personal in nature, his actions forced by desperation. He has been battling his son's paralysis-causing epileptic seizures and mounting health care costs since 2010. His son's condition, Xie believes, is the result of toxic emissions from an incineration plant near his home.</p><p>Xie and his wife, Ma Hongmei, lived in Nantong, Jiangsu province, when Ma gave birth to their son, Yongkang, in 2008. Even before they could celebrate his first 100 days of life, Yongkang's parents noticed he was not developing normally. He did not laugh like other babies and had trouble seeing and hearing. Most disturbing, he twitched incessantly and could not be placated. Shortly after, he became paralysed. Doctors eventually diagnosed him with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy">cerebral palsy</a>.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/04/dirty-truth-chinas-incinerators">Continue reading...</a>WasteEnvironmentEnergyGreenhouse gas emissionsPollutionActivismChinaWorld newsHealthSocietyIncinerationWed, 04 Jul 2012 14:35:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/04/dirty-truth-chinas-incineratorsCorbisA Chinese worker controls robotic arms to throw rubbish into an incinerator at a plant in Qionghai, Southern Hainan province of China. Photograph: CorbisCorbisA Chinese worker controls robotic arms to throw garbage into an incinerator at a plant in Qionghai, Southern Hainan province of China, December 1, 2009. Construction of a major garbage incinerator in this southern metropolis will not begin until environmental assessments of the project are approved, officials said Sunday Photograph: CorbisElizabeth Balkan for <a href="http://www.chinadialogue.net/">ChinaDialogue</a>, part of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/network">Guardian Environment Network</a>2012-07-04T14:35:00ZEU is investing in toxic waste projects in developing world, GAIA claimshttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/may/16/eu-toxic-waste-developing-world-gaia
The EU is threatening waste-pickers' livelihoods and backing projects that may actually increase emissions, says report<p>The EU's <a href="http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/mechanisms/clean_development_mechanism/items/2718.php" title="">clean development mechanism</a> (CDM) is supporting waste projects in developing countries that threaten livelihoods and cause toxic emissions, according to a report by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA).</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/may/16/eu-toxic-waste-developing-world-gaia">Continue reading...</a>Global developmentEnvironmental sustainabilityEmploymentRecyclingIncinerationWasteEnvironmentEuropean UnionWorld newsWed, 16 May 2012 14:08:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/may/16/eu-toxic-waste-developing-world-gaiaLu Di/EPAA worker in a private workshop recycling plastics in Guiyang, in southwest China's Guizhou province. Photograph: Lu Di/EPAStr/AFP/Getty ImagesA pile of used white plastic food containers lies as waste near a food stall at a construction site in Hefei, in eastern China's Anhui province on December 6, 2009. Photograph: Str/AFP/Getty ImagesLes Roopanarine2012-05-16T14:08:57ZBjarke Ingels designs incinerator that doubles as ski slope in Copenhagenhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/03/bjarke-ingels-incinerator-ski-slope
Architect's latest project to transform an incinerator in heart of Copenhagen shows the playful side of sustainability<p>How do you turn a 100-metre-tall incinerator in the heart of Copenhagen into a social and cultural hub? By building a ski slope on the roof, of course.</p><p>The unlikely combination of green energy and alpine sport was the winning bid in a competition to design a new waste-to-energy plant which aims to be one of the cleanest in the world when it opens in 2016. For the winning architect, Bjarke Ingels, it made perfect sense to inject a bit of fun into the proceedings.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/03/bjarke-ingels-incinerator-ski-slope">Continue reading...</a>Green buildingWorld newsDenmarkEuropeArchitectureArt and designEnvironmentIncinerationEnergyWasteRenewable energySun, 03 Jul 2011 17:54:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/03/bjarke-ingels-incinerator-ski-slopeBIG/GuardianBjarke Ingels's winning design to transform an incinerator in Copehagen. Image: BIG. Click on the image to see a larger version.BIG/GuardianBjarke Ingels' winning design to transform an incinerator in Copehagen. Photograph: BIG for the GuardianLars Eriksen in Copenhagen2011-07-03T17:54:44ZSita: hosting an incinerator 'will bring benefits for locals'http://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/dec/12/sita-offers-community-benefits-host-incinerators
Sita will offer subsidised energy bills and other perks if communities approve planning for waste facilities<p>Communities are being invited to &quot;own their own incinerator&quot; in return for hosting the controversial projects, under proposals put forward by waste firm Sita.</p><p>Locals would be offered subsidised energy bills for homes or leisure centres and profit sharing in an attempt to persuade councils not to block planning applications. Tomorrow the government is expected to unveil its localism bill, which will devolve power to local government.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/dec/12/sita-offers-community-benefits-host-incinerators">Continue reading...</a>IncinerationBusinessWasteLocal governmentEnergyUK newsCommunitiesSocietyEnvironmentSun, 12 Dec 2010 17:26:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/dec/12/sita-offers-community-benefits-host-incineratorsDavid Sillitoe/GuardianSita says communities would be better off with one of its incinerators. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the GuardianDavid Sillitoe/GuardianSita says communities would be better off with one of its incinerators. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the GuardianTim Webb2010-12-12T17:26:31ZCancún climate change summit: the Zapatistas are cominghttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/dec/03/cancun-climate-change-summit-zapatistas
Cancún climate change talks latest: Mexican revolutionaries, waste-pickers, global go-betweens, and Japan's self-incrimination<p>So far, Canc&uacute;n has been a dull, protest-free zone with only limited numbers of responsible NGOs allowed anywhere near the hallowed halls of the political debates. This will change by tomorrow when six convoys of peasant farmers, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapatista_Army_of_National_Liberation" title="Zapatistas">Zapatistas</a> and heavens knows who else arrives from elsewhere in Mexico.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/dec/03/cancun-climate-change-summit-zapatistas">Continue reading...</a>Cancún climate change conference 2010 | COP16World newsClimate changeMexicoUnited NationsGlobal climate talksEnvironmental sustainabilityEnvironmentIncinerationWasteWeatherUK newsNatural disasters and extreme weatherProtestActivismGlobal developmentFri, 03 Dec 2010 11:40:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/dec/03/cancun-climate-change-summit-zapatistasJuan Barreto/AFP/Getty ImagesCancún climate change summits: the Global Alliance of Waste-pickers and Allies demonstrate at the Palace Hotel in Cancun, Mexico. Photograph: Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty ImagesJuan Barreto/AFP/Getty ImagesActivists of Global Alliance of Wastepickers and Allies demonstrate at the Palace Hotel in Cancun, Mexico, on December 1, 2010 during the during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16). Photograph: Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty ImagesJohn Vidal2010-12-03T11:40:53ZTransparency in local government finance a step closerhttp://www.theguardian.com/society/joepublic/2010/nov/08/transparency-local-government-finance
Court of Appeal rules in favour of Nottinghamshire resident who asked to see council's books<p>Campaigners for <a href="http://www.orchardnews.com/veolegncc.htm" title="">transparency in local government finance</a> got a boost last week when a Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Nottinghamshire resident Shlomo Dowen.</p><p>Dowen wished to scrutinise the details of a 26-year-long <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/pfi" title="">PFI</a> contract worth &pound;850m between Nottinghamshire County Council and Veolia Environmental Services, but when he asked to see the council's books – as he believed was <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/18/contents" title="">his right under the Audit Commission Act</a> – Veolia sought and won an injunction to prevent the council from giving him access.</p><p>&quot;Their decision could prove crucial for media outlets, and for the public they serve, because of the current rights of journalists to monitor and publish details of local authority and police authority accounts.&quot;</p><p>&quot;This is a common sense judgement. We first requested a legal ruling on this issue because we wanted to give clarity to local authorities, the general public and the waste management industry'. <br />&quot;We welcome the ruling as we have always believed that it was wrong to make commercially sensitive material available to our direct competitors as this could potentially have an adverse effect on the benchmarking process and drive up the cost to the local taxpayer. The decision has given clarity to all interested parties and it will allow the waste management industry to plan for the future.<br />&quot;The information that is of genuine interest to local taxpayers has always been available to them and we will continue to put this information into the public domain.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Lord Justice Rix acknowledged the public interest in transparency. The promotion of economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources was built into the heart of the 1998 Act, he said.<br />But the judge added that it was plain that there was a &quot;strong public interest&quot; in the maintenance of valuable commercial confidential information.<br />&quot;If the penalty for contracting with public authorities were to be the potential loss of such confidential information, then public authorities and the public interest would be the losers, and the result would be potentially anti-competitive,&quot; he suggested.&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/joepublic/2010/nov/08/transparency-local-government-finance">Continue reading...</a>Local governmentSocietyPrivate finance initiativePoliticsIncinerationWastePollutionEnvironmentBusinessMon, 08 Nov 2010 09:15:30 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/joepublic/2010/nov/08/transparency-local-government-financeGraham Turner/The GuardianUnder the Audit Commission Act members of the public are allowed to scrutinise local government accounts for a period of 20 days during the audit. Photograph: Graham TurnerGraham Turner/The GuardianThe shadow chancellor, George Osborne, says British voters are worse off in the current economy Photograph: Graham Turner/The GuardianFrederika Whitehead2010-11-08T09:15:30ZRubbish piles up in Naples as waste dump is put on holdhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/24/naples-rubbish-waste-dump-riots
Italian government suspends plans for new facility after month of violent protests<p>The Italian government today offered to suspend the opening of a new waste dump near Naples in an attempt to halt violent protests that have lit up the night sky over Mount Vesuvius for a month.</p><p>Demonstrators have set fire to vehicles trying to bring rubbish into an existing dump, blocked the road leading to it with tree trunks and fought police with rocks, firecrackers and Molotov cocktails.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/24/naples-rubbish-waste-dump-riots">Continue reading...</a>ItalySilvio BerlusconiWorld newsLandfillIncinerationWasteEnvironmentProtestSun, 24 Oct 2010 19:08:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/24/naples-rubbish-waste-dump-riotsCiro Fusco/AnsaPolice come under firecracker attack from protesters opposed to a new waste dump during clashes in Terzigno, Naples. Photograph: Ciro Fusco/AnsaCiro Fusco/AnsaPolice come under firecracker attack from protesters opposed to a new waste dump during clashes in Terzigno, Naples. Photograph: Ciro Fusco/AnsaJohn Hooper in Rome2010-10-24T19:08:53ZNaples remains in the grip of a waste nightmarehttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/19/naples-chaos-waste-mountain
Camorra underworld seems the only winner amid strikes, corruption and lack of equipment<p>Paolo Giacomelli, deputy mayor of Naples in charge of the environment, sometimes wakes up at night to check the level of the bins outside his building. &quot;An emergency,&quot; he says, &quot;can happen any time.&quot;</p><p>About two weeks ago a 24-hour strike by dustmen brought back memories of the 2008 crisis when the stench of uncollected waste filled the city. Piles of trash accumulated in the town centre and suburbs, attracting hordes of flies and media. &quot;After one day's strike, it takes me three days to straighten things out,&quot; says an exhausted Giacomelli.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/19/naples-chaos-waste-mountain">Continue reading...</a>ItalyLandfillMafiaIncinerationWasteTue, 19 Oct 2010 12:59:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/19/naples-chaos-waste-mountainMarcello Paternostro/AFP/Getty ImagesTrash course… rubbish lines the streets during an Italian dustmen’s strike. Photograph: Marcello Paternostro/AFP/Getty ImagesMarcello Paternostro/AFP/Getty ImagesUncollected rubbish in the streets of Villabate near Palermo in 2009. Photograph: Marcello Paternostro/AFP/Getty ImagesPhilippe Ridet2010-10-19T12:59:01ZUN incineration plans rejected by world's rubbish-dump workershttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/aug/05/un-waste-incineration-protests-workers
Pickers say waste-to-energy incineration plants increase emissions and take away their only means of survival<p>The waste-pickers who scour the world's rubbish dumps and daily recycle thousands of tonnes of metal, paper and plastics are up in arms against the UN, which they claim is forcing them out of work and increasing climate change emissions.</p><p>Their complaint, heard yesterday in Bonn where UN <a href="http://unfccc.int/conference_programme/items/5681.php" title="global climate change talks have resumed">global climate change talks have resumed</a>, is that the <a href="http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/mechanisms/clean_development_mechanism/items/2718.php" title="clean development mechanism (Cdm)">clean development mechanism (CDM)</a>, an ambitious climate finance scheme designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, has led to dozens of giant waste-to-energy incinerators being built to burn municipal rubbish, as well as hundreds of new landfill schemes designed to collect methane gas.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/aug/05/un-waste-incineration-protests-workers">Continue reading...</a>IncinerationClimate changeWastePollutionWorld newsEnvironmentThu, 05 Aug 2010 11:46:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/aug/05/un-waste-incineration-protests-workersAlexandre Meneghini/APPeople scavenge for items of value in the garbage in the Truitier municipal garbage dump in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)Alexandre Meneghini/APPeople scavenge for items of value in the garbage in the Truitier municipal garbage dump in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)John Vidal2010-08-05T11:46:45ZBeijing to sweeten stench of rubbish crisis with giant deodorant gunshttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/mar/26/beijing-rubbish-deodorant
High-pressure fragrance sprays will be installed at Asuwei dump, one of several hundred overflowing landfill sites that are the focus of growing public concern<br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2010/mar/26/beijing-rubbish-wang-jiuliang-photography" title="">In pictures: zooming in on Beijing's rubbish </a><p>Beijing is to install 100 deodorant guns at a stinking landfill site on the edge of the city in a bid to dampen complaints about the capital's rubbish crisis.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/mar/26/beijing-rubbish-deodorant">Continue reading...</a>WastePollutionIncinerationLandfillEnvironmentChinaWorld newsAsia PacificFri, 26 Mar 2010 12:55:58 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/mar/26/beijing-rubbish-deodorantguardian.co.uk/guardian.co.ukJonathan Watts reports from east Beijing on the growing problem of domestic waste in China's capital, where the lack of incinerators has lead to mounds of rubbish forming around the city
Photograph: guardian.co.ukJonathan Watts, Asia environment correspondent2010-03-26T12:55:58ZVideo: Beijing's rubbish dumps: the 'seventh ring' of the cityhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2010/mar/26/beijing-rubbish
Jonathan Watts reports on the growing problem of domestic waste on the edge of China's capital, where mounds of rubbish are forming between the city's ring roads <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2010/mar/26/beijing-rubbish">Continue reading...</a>WastePollutionIncinerationEnvironmentChinaWorld newsLandfillAsia PacificCitiesFri, 26 Mar 2010 12:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2010/mar/26/beijing-rubbishguardian.co.uk/guardian.co.ukJonathan Watts reports from east Beijing on the growing problem of domestic waste in China's capital, where the lack of incinerators has lead to mounds of rubbish forming around the city
Photograph: guardian.co.ukJonathan Watts, edited by Han Ying, subtitles Cui Zheng2010-03-26T12:30:00ZPlan to ban items from bins to boost recyclinghttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/mar/17/recycling-waste-landfill-ban-rubbish
Paper and card, food, garden waste and plastics on proposed list of items that would have to be recycled<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/16/recycling-waste-disposal" title="Black bins for household ">Black bins for household</a> waste could become a thing of the past under proposals to be published tomorrow to ban almost everything thrown away by households from being sent to landfill.</p><p>Paper and card, food, garden waste and plastics are all on a list of items that would have to be recycled, composted, or burned for energy. The move would represent a transformation in England and Wales, where about half of what people put in the bin at home or at work ends up in holes in the ground.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/mar/17/recycling-waste-landfill-ban-rubbish">Continue reading...</a>WasteRecyclingIncinerationEnvironmentUK newsWed, 17 Mar 2010 22:09:09 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/mar/17/recycling-waste-landfill-ban-rubbishLinda Nyland/GuardianAt the moment about half of UK waste ends up in landfill. Some is incinerated and about one third recycled.Alex Segre/Rex FeaturesResidential recycling box, London Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex FeaturesJuliette Jowit2010-03-17T22:09:09ZRecycling still the most effective waste disposal method, report findshttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/mar/16/recycling-waste-disposal
Report for UK government refutes persistent claims that recycling is a waste of time, calls for better facilities and an increase in incineration<p></p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/mar/16/recycling-waste-disposal">Continue reading...</a>RecyclingWasteIncinerationEnvironmentUK newsTue, 16 Mar 2010 06:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/mar/16/recycling-waste-disposalAlex Segre/Rex FeaturesA residential recycling box, London. Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex FeaturesAlex Segre/Rex FeaturesResidential recycling box, London Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex FeaturesJuliette Jowit2010-03-16T06:00:02ZChinese protesters confront police over incinerator plans in Guangzhouhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/nov/23/china-protest-incinerator-guangzhou
Residents say government is lying over health dangers as Chinese protesters gain confidence and support<p>Chinese police have dispersed a demonstration by hundreds of Chinese protesters over a planned waste incinerator in the southern city of Guangzhou.</p><p>The latest in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/pollution+world/protest" title="a series of environment-related protests in China">a series of environment-related protests in China</a> was sparked by rumours that a similar facility in a nearby village is responsible for an increase of cancer cases among locals.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/nov/23/china-protest-incinerator-guangzhou">Continue reading...</a>IncinerationWastePollutionEnvironmentChinaProtestWorld newsAsia PacificMon, 23 Nov 2009 13:08:48 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/nov/23/china-protest-incinerator-guangzhouSTRINGER SHANGHAI/REUTERSA local holds a banner reading &amp;amp;amp;quot;oppose garbage incineration, protect green Guangzhou&amp;amp;amp;quot; outside government offices in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Photograph: ReutersSTRINGER SHANGHAI/REUTERSA local holds a banner reading "oppose garbage incineration, protect green Guangzhou" as she protests outside government offices in Guangzhou, Guangdong province November 23, 2009 Photograph: STRINGER SHANGHAI/REUTERSJonathan Watts and agencies2009-11-23T13:08:48Z